9Z-8e

[Jud]

Lastly, *because* of the Windows 8 potential, I myself see no use in working out the XXHighEnd PC for the better sound with Windows 7. I want to do that afterwards. If needed at all (because by then I suppose everybody will be on W8).

I tend to stay with a Win OS I like for a long time because the quality of the various releases is so variable IMHO.  I stayed with Win2000 until Win 7.  So far I've seen nothing in Win 8 to make me want to move, though if better sound quality is possible that is certainly a factor in favor.  I've got no liking at all for what I've experienced of the new UI.  (They were trying out Surface tablets on airport passers-by when my wife and I were traveling this fall.  Pah!)  So I hope you don't leave us W7 users behind too quickly.

[PeterSt]

Jud, full agreement here. The quoted text of mine indeed looks too harsh. It's just that I myself expect(ed ?) W8 to be the better one. This seems to justify the priority. But mind the "I want to do this aftwards" which by all means tells I WILL do it.
And maybe not all *that* much afterwards ...

Regards ad thanks,
Peter

[benananda]

CLEAN!  Nice black background sound with no treble harshness, or bass bloom, so volume to the max!!  I'm still playing around, but I like what I'm hearing.  Perhaps a little less fullness than before, but other changes in system must be taken into account- Win 8.

[ivo]

I can only join others and say that now sound is simply unbelievable:

1. 3D effect has increased.
2. treble and mids so mild and silky.
3. bass - so tight and clear and deep - no 'clouds' anymore.
4. overall clarity - amazing.

I can finally say that if I add around 800 USD (XX license + USB DAC) to my laptop - I get a High end natural sound out of it which I can be proud off and promote to others!!!

Thanks Peter once again!

Ivo

[juanpmar]

Lately I was using the USB Buffer size in the Phasure Control Panel at 16ms and today I returned to 4ms that I was using with the 0.9z-7 versions, seeing also that Peter returned to use it. For me the 16ms is so far the best setting with 0.9z-8e as it has the best balance between clarity and body, the voices seem to be warmer, with more presence and the notes some way richer with more nuances. Subtle differences as always but noticeable.
I´d like know about some others opinion about this difference in SQ using 4ms or 16ms  in the USB Buffer Size.

Juan

[CoenP]

Hi Juan,

Please note that I am more of a "transient" guy than a "tone colour" one. I have less problems with horn colouration than with a slow and undynamic sound.

When Peter had 16ms in his signature I tried it, but found it rounding-off the music, sounding a little odd and distant to me.

Above is the very same reason why I prefer 10ms clock res over 15ms. I am still trying to balance tone and dynamics with SFS and Q1. Both spice up the sound at lower values bringing it alive while loosing warmth. This can get too much, even for me!

regards, Coen

[juanpmar]

Thanks Coen, now I´m trying again with 4ms and to tell you the truth I´m not sure which setting I find making a more real sound. It is hard to put all those settings together in a "perfect" way and besides all of us have different systems in a way or another making comparisons difficult.
I don´t like either a colored sound and what I look for is the sound that seems to me closer to the real thing, not the one that please me more, of course the real thing is only in my imagination (contradictory?) but this is what the game is about for me.

4ms sounds great also, maybe the use of one or the other setting (16ms) depends also on the recording.

Best regards,
Juan

[ivo]

I think that this experiment may be interesting if real sound is the goal:

Try to record your own singing and playing something using a good stereo recorder that does it right into WAV file. Then play this file back on your system using different tweaks while you find the real ones that do not color the sound.

I also agree that it very much depends on a recordings, but at least you can try this way to find something. Will try someday and then post as I also like to hear as close to real as possible.

Ivo

[CoenP]

I would like to share some experience I have with v8e.

With the settings below (i will paste them in an txt attatchment) I enjoy a fabulous musicality. I mean with every piece I throw at xxhe the music seems to be exactly right. The right dynamics, the right timing, the right flow,the music holds my attention easily for an entire album and with the right material I get shivers in the neck. Sometimes the musical rightness is pure magic. Oh, and all this bliss is regardless of genre.

Arrived at audionirwana? Well, not yet. Musically it is on par, but tonally it is a bit undercooled and sometimes instruments or voices are a little vague. I really wish for some extra warmth and solidity to obtain perfection.

I have found while playing with the settings in search of better tonality, that this magic is very fragile. Some setting do bring extra warmth (like playing unattended, with ram-disk or PA+) but with all changes the superb musicallity is destroyed. Some settings are worse than others, but all make the music less interesting and harder to connect to (more "good sound" like).

A record where this is immediately apparent for me is the "Horwitz at home" recoding. With the good settings you want to listen to the musical story that the master tries to tell with his piano or just enjoy the flow of music. One setting off and you are listening to a poorly organised undynamic pling plong, that makes you want to skip the track or do something else. Fyi: thats what I usually experience with most tracks of this recording.

Knowing that Peter allways has new tricks in his sleeve, i am a little reluctant to search in the rest of the chain. For now I keep searching within the settings and let you know if I succeed. Hints and tips are allways welcome!

Regards, Coen

[PeterSt]

but tonally it is a bit undercooled and sometimes instruments or voices are a little vague. I really wish for some extra warmth and solidity to obtain perfection.

Just change the footers of the NOS1. Doesn't matter with what. This is just for you to notice that this is this other dimension which is not allowed to skip ...


And Coen, is your sig on par now ? I don't think so.
Is it true that you have PA Off ?

Regards,
Peter

[CoenP]

Hi Peter,

Foorters have allready been replaced by three woorden doorknobs. Sig is on par. I do not use PA (when I did I preferred + over -) and all xt tweaks are conform initial pc settings.

I can do checks and experiments later.

Regards, Coen

[PeterSt]

Hey Coen,

I wasn't talking about replacing the temporay ones, but just that they do matter more than the whole of XX. Change that wood by rubber or something and have your warmth. Bet ?
One problem : it wil even be more "vague" as per your own description.
Anyway it's key.

Peter


PS: And your "vague" is distortion because of no PA in use. A bit more tough to bet on, but I'd dare a krate of beer.

[CoenP]

Ok,

FYI: The dark magic-cubes have been removed from the room allready. I will experiment with some other footers and PA tonight.

Regards, Coen

[CoenP]

Hi,

For starters I just removed the wooden footers and started a listening session.

The vagueness seems to be moved to another part of the frequency spectrum. Also, as expected, there is also less focus to the sound. Engaging PA in both + and - version reveals that again "something" is lost in that musical quality. The minus setting is very clean, but seems to "compress" or "thicken" the music ever so slightly. OTOH the plus setting adds a little liveliness and colour but at the expense of apparent details.

In my -still- preferred non-PA setting the music sounds more free, able to breathe more. It also seems louder. Unfortunately the feet make no difference to this quality.

Before moving on to new feet, I noticed that the XT-Tweaks "balanced load" setting was 98, much higher than I remember after installing 8a. I have not been consiously fiddling around with the XT tweaks (to keep a reference for the PC across XX versions) so this was some kind of accidental setting. After some tooltip reading I took the plunge to get a grasp of their effect on Sq (and CPU temp).

Now it got very interesting. Reducing the "balanced load" had a very profound effect on the sound. In fact the musical magic appears to happen only at a setting of 90 and higher, regardless of the other xt tweaks -so far-. As a bonus a setting of 90 sounds a little more fleshed out than the former 98.

Well, though this makes a nice start, it complicates finding an optimal solution with all possible interactions .

Wrt PA, I cannot reproduce a lower distortion and better percieved sound. Maybe the normal XX 8e distortions work out for the better in my odd system.

regards, Coen

[PeterSt]

Thank you for the feedback Coen.